Our district is honored to be home to a fine senator. Bill Armistead, the distinguished gentleman from Columbiana, may well be our state’s next lieutenant governor, which speaks well both of him as a public servant and of us as his constituents. He is a remarkable man, and his presence so high on the ballot makes me terribly proud.

In stark contrast, though, it appears that our senator might be succeeded by a scoundrel of considerable proportion.

I have been following with increasing concern the growing body of revelations concerning Steve Flowers’ character &045; concerning his spurious and largely false claims to residency in the district, his alleged criminal record, his persistently violent demeanor and his connection to the same gambling interests he has alleged he will fight in Montgomery.

I am persuaded considerably by the documentary evidence supporting all of these allegations and have concluded that the man is not fit for public office.

But what inspires me to write you today is the latest news, that this weekend, in a showdown with some of his more committed detractors whom he confronted as they hung signs advertising their website, Flowers acted in an unacceptable manner.

His behavior is as incomprehensible as it is reprehensible, and I beg my friends and neighbors to consider what granting our vote to this man means.

If we elect such a man to the state Senate, the shame will become ours as well.

It has been suggested to me that you will not print this letter, nor report on this incident as Flowers has invested heavily in print advertising for his senate campaign. I have also known your paper to have a considerable sense of fair play and journalistic integrity.

I hope that you will do what is right in this instance and put reporting ahead of profits.

I hope you will let the truth be known, and that truth is that we cannot have Steve Flowers represent us in any body, not for a moment, because his values are clearly not our own